American oil producer Hess Corporation disclosed on April 26 that it earned net income of US$346 million, or US$1.13 per share, in the first quarter of 2023, compared with net income of US$417 million, or US$1.34 per share, in the first quarter of 2022.
On an adjusted basis, the corporation reported net income of US$404 million, or US$1.30 per share in the first quarter of 2022.
Hess said the decrease in after-tax results compared with the prior-year quarter reflects lower realized selling prices. Be that as it may, Hess said those low prices were partially offset by the net impact of higher production volumes from Guyana in the first quarter of 2023.
At the Stabroek Block where it holds a 30% working interest, Hess said net production from the Liza Destiny and the Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels which totaled 112,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the first quarter of 2023, compared with 30,000 bopd in the same period last year.
Hess noted that the Liza Unity FPSO, which commenced production in February 2022, reached its production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross bopd in July 2022.
In the first quarter of 2023, Hess said it sold nine cargos of crude oil from Guyana compared with two cargos in the prior year quarter.
As for the third development, Payara, which will utilise the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 220,000 gross bopd, Hess said it is targeted for startup early in the fourth quarter. The Prosperity FPSO had arrived at the Stabroek Block on April 11th with hook-up and commissioning activities in progress.
The fourth development, Yellowtail, was sanctioned in April 2022 and will utilise the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross bopd, with first production expected in 2025. Hess said today that the project is already running ahead of schedule.
Government and regulatory approvals are also expected this week for a fifth development, Uaru, with a production capacity of approximately 250,000 gross bopd.
“We continue to successfully execute our strategy, which offers a unique value proposition to investors,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Hess said.
With multiple phases of low-cost oil developments coming online in Guyana and a robust inventory of high-return drilling locations in the Bakken, the CEO said his company is positioned to deliver durable cash flow growth that enables it to continue to invest in some of the highest-return projects in the industry while growing cash returns to shareholders.
